Stout Oloroso
by DefinitelyNotFrankincense
Summary: A collection of not-quite-drabbles, not-quite-one-shots centered around Chroto and Sherri, in no particular order. Rating may rise later. PSO2
1. Windy Demon

Takes place: Some time after "Losing Patience" and before "Frustration."

* * *

They ran into each-other only briefly a few times before, and never on the field. She couldn't really remember how they'd ended up conversing; she just knew that for some reason, she was at ease speaking with the third pillar. Maybe his careful choosing of words had a subconscious effect? She wouldn't be surprised.

On the other hand, there was a fluttery feeling in her stomach that she really didn't want to think too much on. It was absolutely stupid, after all. Even she knew that much. It was hard to help, though; Casra seemed such a perfect gentleman, radiating a kindness and softness from every inch of him. Seriously, that handsome face and voice, his body language, even the sway of the tassles on his hat were all so damn _gentle._ She couldn't imagine him hurting a fly, let alone being of such a high rank within the ARKS.

It felt kind of contagious; she found herself smiling a lot as she spoke with him.

"You've really gained quite the reputation thus far. You certainly put in an amount of effort that everyone should aspire to." The greenette smiles, "I just hope you aren't wearing yourself out too much."

"Th-thank you..." Sherri blushes, running a hand through her hair. "But it's not like I'm good or anything... I only try hard..."

"All the more reason. If only those with natural talent would put in this kind of effort..." He seems to be thinking of someone in particular for a moment. "I hope you know I mean no offense by that." He hides a good-natured smile behind his hand, "Of course, I don't mean to praise you too much, either. It's merely an observation."

"Yes... of course, sir..." She smiles back.

Then she jumps as a hand is laid on her shoulder from behind.

"My, I knew you were infamous, but to catch even the higher ups' attention..."

She whirls around and her face flushes again at the familiar voice, "Boss!"

"Oi, what'd I say about that..." He ruffles her hair a bit before subtly moving more to her side.

"Right... Chroto." she sighs as she smooths her hair back down. "What are you doing here?"

"You were so late that it's my lunch break by now." Seeing her horrified expression, he gives a chuckle. "There should still an opening near the time my break's over, don't worry."

She quickly bows, "Thank you so much... I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that much time had passed... And I don't really have an excuse." Standing back to her full height, she turns back toward the now curious ranger. "I was talking with Casra..."

Said greenette smiles and waves it off. "I didn't mean to take up so much of your time with idle talk. I apologize."

"No, no, it's entirely my fault. I'd even been preparing for my course... How embarrassing, after what we were talking about..." Glancing back over at Chroto, she tries not to pause as she notes the slight tilt of his head. "Um... Sorry, Casra. This is my partner, Chroto."

Before the third pillar could respond, the brunette clapped a hand onto Sherri's shoulder again. "I'm sure he doesn't care to meet lil' ol' me." He squeezes slightly with his thumb.

Sherri sends an apologetic smile toward the greenette. "Sorry to run, but I should probably finish my preparations."

"Of course," he responds, understanding smile in place. "Don't let me keep you."

She turns back to her boss, "Though, if there's enough time, I'd like to catch lunch, too..." At his nod, she gives a final bow to her company. "Take it easy, Casra."

He returns the gesture, "Take care of yourself, Sherri."

As the two retreat, it doesn't go unnoticed that Chroto stays half a pace behind and more to the center.

When out of sight and ear shot, he matches her pace and closes more of the distance, keeping his voice low. "I'd steer clear of that guy if I were you."

Sherri doesn't break the pace or turn her head. She may not understand exactly what's going on, but she knows he's serious. He had his eye on the third pillar the whole time behind those goggles. "What, out of my league?"

"I'm not joking, Sherri." She keeps silent. "The circumstances surrounding that guy are strange and subtle. Don't get involved."

She lets it sit for a while, still not seeing anything terribly off about the man. But her boss and partner's grin is nowhere to be seen and she knows it's something bigger than she could ever hope to figure out or handle. So, she nods and takes comfort in the hand that holds hers protectively.

* * *

Started: 11/27/2013 1:? AM  
Finished: 11/27/2013 6:17 PM

Even the JP wiki thinks this guy's suspicious. What with the whole Zeno thing, I'm surprised there's not more theories running around.

Well, whether anything comes of that or not, Chroto's super suspicious anyway, so he'd probably want to stay as far away from the six pillars or whatever as possible. I kind of want to get that across the most: he's not being possessive; just looking out for someone he's become kind of close to. Though, I realize he was anything but subtle about separating them. I'd like to say it's because he wasn't expecting it and acted on impulse, but that sounds too sappy and it wasn't my intention. I don't have a real excuse. I'm just bad at writing.


	2. Morning After

Takes place: After their first night together. Various things would have been getting in the way and interrupts most shows of affection.

* * *

It was one of the most peaceful moments either of them could remember; wrapped in both the warmth of each-other and the warmth of the room that they had caused; exhausted breaths fragile across each-other's skin; bodies still moving as one with each rise and fall; his heart beating under her ear and her heart beating against his side.

It felt like it could have been hours or seconds that they laid there. Lazy eyes knew they'd tumbled into the room so late at night that it was already early morning; the artificial daylight should be transitioning in any moment. Sherri had already decided neither of them were going to answer that silent call, though.

With neither being fully asleep, the familiar and dangerous shift in the atmosphere was impossible to miss. Without realizing it, both had begun to tense until the anticipated sound rang out:

_"Red alert. Multiple D-arker signatures are..."_

The tension broke as they both sighed.

"I don't think we're allowed to finish a moment..." Sherri muttered both their thoughts, trying to bury herself deeper into the sheets and warm chest beneath her head.

"Thinking about retiring..." he answered back, pulling her closer and hiding his face in her hair.

"You ain't gray enough yet, gramps.."

With another sigh, they both rolled away to gather their scattered pieces of armor.

* * *

Written: 10/20/2014 1:31pm


	3. Tundra's Exhausting

Takes place: Some time after "Frustration."

* * *

He hates missions in the tundra the most.

They were both suitably bundled up in warmer armors that combined the technology of the ARKS and the hides of the native creatures, but there was only so much that either could do without being immobilizing.

Even through the increasing wind, it was hard not to hear him shivering and his teeth chattering away. Lazy as he was, he was all too glad to hand off analyzing to Sherri for the chance to get his blood flowing. Damn if it didn't feel like he was just breathing in more ice, though.

"Never again. Tundra. _Never again._" Chroto shivers, crossing his arms tightly after re-holstering his guns.

"I'll make a note of that..." Sherri drawls, sifting through a bit of the data they'd collected. "But we're already here. We can't exactly back out."

He keeps fidgeting where he stands, seeming to be trying to stare a hole through her head.

"Staring isn't going to make me go any faster. If I don't sort it out properly now, I might as well delete it all. I can hardly make sense of this crap in the first place."

"I thought you aced that portion?" He sneezes and tries looking through the pockets on his coat for a handkerchief but gives up after a few failed attempts to properly grasp the zipper. _'Damn bulky gloves…'_

"Bless you. Doesn't mean it stuck. I hadn't run any cooperative missions since I was fresh out of the academy until I teamed up with you. It all fell out of my head." She suddenly shuts the device down. "Doesn't help that whatever custom OS they're using is the most irritating piece of junk to try and navigate. I've lost count of how many times it's crashed, too..."

"I'd love to re-educate you, but I'm just about frozen to the spot here."

"Right, right... Let's hurry and get the big baby home so he can get his hot cocoa..." she teases, walking up to meet him at the crossroad he'd stopped at. She absently notes that the wind is picking up.

"I swear, whenever you enter the tundra, you turn just as frigid..."

"I'm just tired of hearing you whine." _'...Actually, it's damn adorable. How can I resist teasing?'_

"Well, it's cold!"

"Maybe if you'd wear a proper hood."

"It won't keep the sun out of my eyes."

"That's what your goggles are for."

"They don't do it alone."

"Then too freaking bad." Sighing, she detaches her hood and snatches the hat from his head.

The sudden rush of cold to the top of his head makes him gasp. "_Are you trying to kill_—" The hood is pulled unceremoniously over his eyes as she straps it to his coat.

She walks back to the front of them as he adjusts it, his hat already sitting comfortably on her head. She stands in front of him, grinning. Baring one hand, she reaches up and pats his scowling face. "Suck it up, babe."

She's caught off guard as he holds her hand from retreating and his face relaxes again. "_Warm..._" He leans into it then scowls again. "How are you this warm?! That isn't fair!"

Her face flushes as she indulges him, rubbing circles with her thumb. "I-I don't know? Maybe my photons are more attuned for extreme weather. Maybe you're just super sensitive."

A particularly strong gust of wind blows against both of them and Sherri has to hold on to the brim of his hat to keep it from flying away. With her 'occupied' hand, she feels a violent shiver run through him. "They never said we had a time limit. Shelter. _Now._"

A few minutes of jogging had them resting in the corner of one of the deeper caves.

Though free from the wind, Chroto still subtly chatters away despite his best attempts.

Sherri sighs in exasperation, fiddling with the clasps on her overlarge coat. "Just keep your teeth from actually chattering. Aside from that, let your body do what it wants. Bad for your teeth, keeps blood flowing."

He pauses. "My body wants to be warm." He starts scooting closer.

"That can be arranged." She's undone the clasps and is shrugging it off before he can get too close.

"While that certainly heats me up any other time, I think I'd rather keep my clothes on for now."

She sits up and swings a leg over his lap, straddling him. "Too bad, this one's coming off."

Chroto keeps his arms crossed while she tries to pry them apart to get at the clasps on his coat. "I know it sounds romantic, but trust me; under these circumstances, it's _not_ a good way to keep warm."

Sherri sits back, huffing. "I'm not trying to initiate sex here. I'm trying to warm you up, so just trust me. And take off your gloves."

He watches her for a few moments before uncrossing his arms and doing as she asked along with undoing the clasps himself with shivering fingers. At her insistence, he slides his arms out of the sleeves, leaving it around his shoulders.

She drapes her coat over the both of them and presses into him as close as she can, wrapping her arms up around his back and leaning her neck against his. "Better?"

He can instantly feel her warmth seep into him even before he returns the embrace. He nods with a final shudder.

"We'll wait the blizzard out, bullshit the rest of the mission and head back. And get you your hot cocoa."

A hand brushes lower and he grins. "And?"

She chuckles and nods, "And."

* * *

Written: 12/13/2013 (finished at 1:54am the following day)

I don't even know. What is transitioning? How does transitioning work? I'm sorry.

Chroto is especially weak to more extreme climates, based on the two cutscenes he has in tundra and desert. (Though, desert seems to come first.) Yes, this will be a thing that Sherri often takes advantage of since she is oh so conveniently good at regulating her own body temperature. Since she probably made note of it early on, she's probably gotten most of her coats and jackets in larger sizes to be able to lend them to him. lol

I don't know what outfits they'd be wearing, actually. I can't really imagine either of them in either of the tundra-inspired outfits. I guess some variation of the 2013 winter outfits? (...The red one does look good on him.) I think the hood accessory should be able to attach to most relevant attire, too.

Also I think I got sharing body heat wrong? I think you are supposed to be naked. But without a definitely dry surface to lay on, I don't think that sounds like a good idea? Just stripping off the outer layer should be fine, maybe? Like, they have long johns and such under that. I don't know these things, I've never lived where it snows.


End file.
